Human activity analysis from video is an open problem that has been studied within the areas of video surveillance, homeland security, and eldercare. For example, the monitoring of human activity is often employed in the medical industry to detect any abnormal or dangerous events, such as falls and/or the risk of falls for a patient. Various parameters, such as gait parameters and/or other locomotive measurements corresponding to a medical patient, are often monitored and considered indispensable in the diagnosis of frailty and fall risk, and in particular, when providing medical care for the elderly.
Falls are a significant issue among the elderly. For example, it is estimated that between 25-35% of people 65 years and older fall each year, and many of such falls result in serious injuries, such as hip fractures, head traumas, and the like. Moreover, the medical costs associated with such falls are astronomical. In the year 2000, it is estimated that over $19 billion dollars were spent treating fall-related injuries for the elderly. Such costs do not account for the decreased quality of life and other long term effects often experienced by many elderly patients after suffering a fall.
Thus, a low-cost monitoring system that would allow for continuous, standardized assessment of fall risk may help address falls and the risk of falls among older adults. Moreover, to enable older adults to continue living longer, in particular, in an independent setting, and thus reduce the need for expensive care facilities, low-cost systems are needed that detect both adverse events such as falls, and the risk of such events.
It is with these concepts in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived.